Salome Alexandra

Salome Alexandra (141 BC-67 BC) was Queen of Judea from 76 BC to 67 BC, succeeding Alexander Jannaeus and preceding Hyrcanus II.

Biography
Salome Alexandra was the daughter of Shetah Bar Yossei and the sister of the sage Shimeon ben Shetach, a Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin. She married Aristobulus I, King of Judea, and she freed her brother-in-law Alexander Jannaeus from Aristobulus' prison after Aristobulus died one year into his reign. She then married Alexander, despite being 18 years older than him, and she wielded only slight political influence due to the King's hostility to the Pharisees. After the King's death in 76 BC, she reigned as Queen regnant, and she peacefully calmed the internal unrest in Judea. She installed her pro-Pharisee son Hyrcanus II as High Priest and re-established the Sanhedrin as a Pharisee-dominated religious institution. She also removed the Sadducees from Jerusalem and moved them into fortified towns; she also increased the size of the army, carefully provisioned the numerous fortified places so that neighboring monarchs would be impressed by the number of fortified towns in Judea, and her reign was mostly peaceful, apart from a failed expedition to seize Damascus. She died in 67 BC, leading to conflict between her sons Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II.